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Completed [Play-by-Post] Magic World/BRP: "In Search of the Sorcerer"

nikolokolus

Arcane
Joined
May 8, 2013
Messages
4,090
Marcán spends 30 minutes or so looking around the base of the hill and its dense thicket of brambles, when he stumbles on to a section of thorns and vines that seem a little bit withered and browner than their surroundings. You tug on the a stout tendril of vegetation free of thorns and pull it back a little and discover that it isn't rooted it all; it's a 2' deep cover for a narrow tunnel that goes through the brambles about 1m high and 30m long. You crawl on your hands and knees and crawl up the hill, coming out on the other side where a faint trail leads farther up the hill. The group files into the tunnel one-by-one, crawls on their hands and knees, and reconvenes on the other side of the wall of thickets. Before you all begin trudging up the hill, Urash lets his raven fly ahead to scout the way up the slope. After fifteen minutes of tense waiting Urash snaps his eyes open and says the way is clear -- a badly disused trail, overgrown with moss and lichen and much eroded from untold centuries of runoff and choked with fallen logs leads to the summit.

After about 2 hours of hard climbing Urash hols up his hand and indicates that you are perhaps with a 1/4 mile of the ruins where Abazion and his cronies are holding Marcan's people captive. Solon nods and says that he needs everyone to join hands, and that no matter what, do not let go until he says otherwise. As Solon speaks the strange syllables and calls forth "Grome!" you all feel some of your vitality seep out of your bodies (everyone loses 8 MP, if that reduces you to 0 then you are unconscious). A long minute passes before the ground begins to vibrate and shake. To your astonishment, boulders from multiple directions start to dislodge themselves from the ground and roll up-hill as if they were being pulled to some invisible point. The boulders (some as large a cart) seem to assemble themselves like puzzle pieces, adhering to one another in the crude approximation of a human-like shape about 20' tall and half again as wide. When the thing finishes assembling itself, Solon abases himself in front of the thing and lays prostrate until a low rumbling voice booms from the mass of earth, stone and roots, "Speak sorcerer! Who dares to summon Graoll, son of Grome, Prince of the lower firmament?!" Solon is visibly shaking when he starts to lift his head and stammers out a feeble reply, "A thousand pardons noble Graoll. I Solon of Odessos, humbly beg an audience with your majesty, that we might come to a mutually beneficial accord. We oppose men who disturb the ground nearby who loot the treasures of the earth and I believe they work to raise an abomination, which I know is an affront to your eternal father." The giant elemental grumbles and speaks dismissively, "What care do I have of manlings and their scurrying about on the face of the firmament? What can you offer mighty Graoll in return for my service and what do you seek?" Solon raises himself to his knees and inclines his head toward Marcán, Rhenmyr, Amon and Borric and shrugs, as if to indicate that one of you should speak your request.
 
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nikolokolus

Arcane
Joined
May 8, 2013
Messages
4,090
Marcán thinks back to his druidic studies. What would a Prince of the lower firmament covet, especiall Graoll? Fame? Glory?

World Lore (70) vs [1d100] = 18
Elementals desire to be let loose to exercise their full powers, especially if it is acting against an opposing element; contrary to what you might think, Earth is inimical to Water and Fire is in opposition to Air. Short of that, a proper offering pleasing to them might be enough to sway them to service. Precious or rare things from the earth might be an enticement to an elemental prince perhaps?
 

Siveon

Bot
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Jul 13, 2013
Messages
4,509
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Marcán takes a knee, and bows his head. "O' great Graoll, I am but the humble bard Marcán Macc Fiongholl. We seek your aid in defeating the man who has enslaved my people, the man who rules his this castle and who commands these troops. Bare down their walls with your might, face any foe who comes in your path, showing your might to us interlopers who dare violate the lands! In exchange, you may receive the treasure of my clan. The Earthstone."

Marcán presents the stone before taking it back in hand, and looks up. "After the battle is finished, the ruler is dead and my people freed you can have it. I swear upon my life that that you shall get your prize after the battle is finished. Does this proposition please you, Prince of the lower firmament?"

 

nikolokolus

Arcane
Joined
May 8, 2013
Messages
4,090
Graoll leans forward and comes to within a few feet of Marcan, and bellows, "You dare to propitiate a god, but withhold your offering until the god performs for you?! If you truly possess such a stone then give it now to seal our pact and then trust that my word is true. We are not skinflints or cheats, and unlike treacherous manlings we keep our word once given!"
 

Siveon

Bot
Joined
Jul 13, 2013
Messages
4,509
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Marcán nods, and bows his head once more. "My apologies, milord. The item in question is currently possessed by a spirit of my people, and I do not want to give you an item that may not live to its fullest potential. Let me set loose the spirit inside, and you may have it."
 

nikolokolus

Arcane
Joined
May 8, 2013
Messages
4,090
Cadeyrn is summoned from the stone and appears, hovering in mid-air about a meter off of the ground. "Where is our foe kinsman? Is the time at hand?" The spirit gazes around somewhat perplexed.
 

Siveon

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Jul 13, 2013
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Shadorwun: Hong Kong
"Yes, just inside our fortress is where our people lie." Marcán points in the direction the team is heading. "We go to make our final charge with all our might. For our plan to work, you'll need another binding. If you can take hold of my blade - the odds shall be in our favor."

"If that does not work, I want you to stand by this elemental of the Earth, Graoll - and fight beside him."
 

nikolokolus

Arcane
Joined
May 8, 2013
Messages
4,090
Cadeyrn smiles ruefully, "Blades and apparatuses are of no use to me. Come let us go and lay waste to our enemy." Graoll holds out an arm-like appendage of fused boulders for the greenstone.
 

Siveon

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Jul 13, 2013
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Shadorwun: Hong Kong
"Yes, let us." Marcán hands the greenstone to Graoll. "Summon him from the stone in the frontlines and you'll be given a powerful ally in this battle. Is this agreeable to one as great as yourself?"
 

nikolokolus

Arcane
Joined
May 8, 2013
Messages
4,090
Graoll takes the stone and handles it suspiciously, "Hmmm, This is irregular. Graoll does not care for flimsy ghosts. Stone and root and things of the deep hidden caverns of the earth are what matter . . . but, very well. Graoll will be happy to expunge this wraith from my stone when the time comes. Come let us go and lay waste to this miscreant so I may return to my realm. There is far too much damp and airy-ness here for my liking." With that, the anthropoid collection of rock and roots sinks into the very ground and almost imperceptibly you can make out a furrow or ripple in the ground as the creature passes through the ground as fast as a man can run up the hill toward the top of the tor.

With no time to waste you climb and scramble as fast as you can and about ten minutes later you arrive at the edge of a clearing atop the forested hill. At first there is no sign of Graoll, but Solon assures you that he will hold to his bargain; elementals can exact a heavy price, but they keep their word to the letter. In the middle of the clearing about 400 meters across you can make out a large shallow pit with a strangely beautiful basalt tower jutting out of the center of it. Surrounding the tower are signs of excavated walls, tumbled buildings and other features of a long buried keep or fortress recently uncovered. Dozens of half-dome pens made of stout withes are scattered across the shallow pit, with the majority closest to the backside of the hill where you just climbed up (the closest of which are about 100 m away from you.

Urash's description of the place don't quite capture the macabre horror at the center of the shallow declivity 200 meters away from you. What appears to be a pair of giant disembodied legs attached to part of a colossal torso stands adjacent to the basalt tower. It appears that the "legs" and "body" are composed of dozens and dozens of corpses that have somehow been fused or stitched together. There is a scaffolding next to the partially assembled body where men can be seen carrying more bodies up to the colossus where they busy themselves adding them to the phantasmagorical abomination. There is a figure in the top of the 50m tall tower standing on a balcony directing the men who are assembling the corpses and over a dozen guards can be seen casually observing the odd scene.

Currently you are still inside the treeline and out of sight.
Tactical map forthcoming once you give me your plans.
 

nikolokolus

Arcane
Joined
May 8, 2013
Messages
4,090
How is the approach to the tower? And how climbable is it.
The tower is at the center of a shallow excavation about 200m across, there is an earthen ramp leading up to the tower and a open arch set into its base (there doesn't appear to be a door), however the ground between you and the tower is not exactly open. There are a number of pens in the outer perimeter, some tumbled down rock walls and other rubble and about a dozen men-at-arms scattered around the grounds; most seem pretty rapt watching the spectacle at the base of the tower where the colossus is being assembled. If you tried to make a dash for the tower you'd have to cover about 160 meters of fairly open ground, but you could possibly use the rubble and the pens for cover to get you as close as 50 meters before you'd have to dart across the courtyard and pray that nobody would see you. You estimate your odds being somewhere close to 0% of getting across those last 50m unseen given the level of activity there. The tower itself looks to be made of a fairly smooth basalt, from this distance you can't say for sure how many handholds you'd find, but it seems like it would be a fairly difficult climb.
 

Grimgravy

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Sep 12, 2013
Messages
3,469
Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire
Rhenmyr scans the area for any place to hole up and snipe gits. The high muckety muck directing things being a priority target.
 

Siveon

Bot
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Jul 13, 2013
Messages
4,509
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
"Amon, a favor. Can you use your talents to free the prisoners while us loud men cook up a storm?"
 

nikolokolus

Arcane
Joined
May 8, 2013
Messages
4,090
Rhenmyr scans the area for any place to hole up and snipe gits. The high muckety muck directing things being a priority target.
Rhenmyr looks at the several large oaks surrounding the clearing but decides that they are too leafy to get a clear shot and it would be too precarious to balance on a branch and try to shoot a longbow (basically, if you want to climb a tree and shoot, expect to make a DEXx3 Agility roll to keep your balance, and a -30% modifier to your skill for any shot. Otherwise, you've got about a 300m shot to the top of the tower where Abazion (presumably) is standing on a balcony with partial cover. The nearest people to you are about 150m).

While you scout and plan, Graoll emerges from the ground next to you; earth and rocks seem to part before him in a low rumble. He looks on and speaks to Solon, "Where is the golem?" Solon points to the multitude of bodies that are stitched and fused together standing in the middle of the clearing like some weird approximation of a pair of legs and a torso, "There." Graoll grumbles, "This is no perversion of stone, this is some macabre manling sculpture, or totem. This is no affront to me at all! You've tricked me sorcerer!" Solon quails and bows, "Lord Graoll, I did not intend to deceive you! I was told an abomination is here, I did not know it was thing made of flesh, but we've given you the powerful earthstone in return for your service, would it not be unseemly to break our pact now before our request is complete?" Graoll raises a fist as if he's seriously considering pulping Solon, but relents. "True, I did swear, but know this sorcerer your name will be spread amongst my people as a trickster, and I forbid you to summon one of my subjects for 9 years and a day. Now where do you want me to direct my efforts? That stone tower would make a lovely pile of rubble you know." Graoll holds the stone out and summons forth Cadeyrn who stands silently and passively in the gloomy shadows cast by the large oak and beech trees around you.

Just to make sure we're on the same page, this is where I have everyone's status based on your character sheets and the Magic Points lost when Solon cast Chain of Being to augment his ability to summon Graoll
Amon 23/23 HPs and 9/17 MPs
Borric 15/31 HPs and 5/13 MPs
Mab 25/25 HPs and 10/18 MPs
Marcán 18/24HPs and 2/10 MPs
Rhenmyr 26/28 HPs and 5/13 MPs
Urash 18/18 HPs and 9/17 MPs

Does somebody want to play Urash and or Mab, as well as Solon Oona and Bran? I can give you their character sheets if somebody wants to take it on. This is probably going to be a really massive battle with a lot of moving parts and I think it's best if your allies are player controlled. Let me know ASAP.
1 hex = 2 MOV in combat and 1 MOV out of combat
X2PZyjb.jpg
 
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nikolokolus

Arcane
Joined
May 8, 2013
Messages
4,090
Hey guys. I know Llywelyn ap Gruffydd and Grimgravy have Roll20 accounts, Siveon and ERYFKRAD if you don't have accounts, do you guys want to join? If we ran the battle on Roll20t it would allow you to maneuver your characters around the map on your turn so I don't have to keep posting updated images of the battlemap it would also and let you zoom in and get a better feel for the tactical situation. We could also resolve dice rolling there instead of doing everything in Unseenservant which adds a lot of time to a combat (especially one this big).

As far as I'm aware, I believe that if I invite you to the game and you log in you, can see the map even if I'm not on there; this would allow us to play asynchronously. I could certainly re-post all of the rolls and the updated tactical situation as a narrative here as we progress through the rounds. I'll leave it up to you guys. If that's going to be a problem for anyone then we'll just go ahead as we normally do.

Joinable link: https://app.roll20.net/join/2589004/YBKtzg

EDIT:
There'd be no need for voice or video. You can write messages in the chat box in roll20, so if you wanted to make a move and explain your tactics you could do it there (or here too I suppose).
 
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Joined
Jul 21, 2015
Messages
751
I'm traveling, so I will not be able to log on to roll20 until late Friday. I'm all on board for using it though. We can solidify our plan over the next few days and then get after it on Friday if that is fine with everyone?
 

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